After the devastating loss of her husband in Iraq, Morgan Dane returns to Scarlet Falls, seeking the comfort of her hometown. Now, surrounded by family, she’s finally found peace and a promising career opportunity—until her babysitter is killed and her neighbor asks her to defend his son, Nick, who stands accused of the murder.

Tessa was the ultimate girl next door, and the community is outraged by her death. But Morgan has known Nick for years and can’t believe he’s guilty, despite the damning evidence stacked against him. She asks her friend Lance Kruger, an ex-cop turned private eye, for help. Taking on the town, the police, and a zealous DA, Morgan and Lance plunge into the investigation, determined to find the real killer. But as they uncover secrets that rock the community, they become targets for the madman hiding in plain sight.

The book starts off with one word: Darkness. And my brain immediately says, “Well, that doesn’t sound good for the character.” I knew here that I was about to enter a suspenseful ride through the next few chapter, and I was correct.

Say You’re Sorry follows Morgan Dane – a public prosecutor, widow and mother of 3 young girls – as they try and settle in her hometown, Scarlet Falls. Just when Morgan found her footing after losing her husband and was about to start working again with the District Attorney, she finds herself defending her neighbour Nick for the murder of her babysitter Tessa. To help her solve this murder and save Nick, who she knows is innocent, Morgan joins hands with her school friend PI Lance Kruger, who has feelings for Morgan.

I had a pleasurable time reading this book. It has the perfect amount of mystery, suspense and romance to it. Not a fast paced novel, but it has just the appropriate pace to keep me engaged in the novel. I loved the chemistry between Morgan and Lance – subtle yet impactful – and the supporting characters did their bit perfectly. I loved how the focus kept shifting between Morgan & Lance, Nick and the killer. This change in POVs made sure that I saw the complete picture to get the most enjoyment out of the story. There are quite a number of twists and turns in the story, but some might not get hard with it because of the pace. I just acknowledged these surprises when they came, instead of going bananas which most of today’s novels does. The final twist was not surprising to me because I sort of solved it a few chapters before but that didn’t lessen the impact.

Overall, Say You’re Sorry was a entertaining read and I definitely would love to read the other books in this series.

Final Verdict:

Say You’re Sorry by Melinda Leigh gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.

About the author:

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh is a fully recovered banker. A life-long lover of books, she started writing as a way to preserve her sanity while raising her kids. Over the next few years, she learned a few things about writing a book. The process was much more fun than analyzing financial statements, and she decided to turn her hobby into a career. Melinda’s debut novel, SHE CAN RUN, was nominated for Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers. She is a RITA® Award Finalist and has earned three Daphne du Maurier Award nominations, two Silver Falchion Awards, and a Golden Leaf.

Melinda holds a 2nd degree belt in Kenpo Karate. She’s dabbled in Arnis stick fighting, studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and taught women’s self-defense. She lives in a messy house in the suburbs with her husband, two kids, a couple of shelter dogs and two rescue cats who clearly run the show. With such a pleasant life, she has no explanation for the sometimes dark and disturbing nature of her imagination. Find out more about Melinda by visiting melindaleigh.com.